Cleanup under way in Missouri, Michigan

The Associated Press

Published 12:00 am, Saturday, June 1, 2013

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A barn is collapsed from a suspected tornado in southwestern Genesee County, Mich. Weather experts confirmed Wednesday that six tornadoes touched down in southeastern Michigan as residents began cleaning up after powerful thunderstorms toppled power lines, downed trees and damaged homes and businesses the night before. No injuries were reported in and around Flint, where the twisters were clustered. The National Weather Service reported the tornadoes ranged in strength from EF-0 to EF-2 on a scale of zero to 5. (AP Photo/The Flint Journal, Sammy Jo Hester) LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT less

A barn is collapsed from a suspected tornado in southwestern Genesee County, Mich. Weather experts confirmed Wednesday that six tornadoes touched down in southeastern Michigan as residents began cleaning up ... more

Photo: AP

Cleanup under way in Missouri, Michigan

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ST. LOUIS -- Cleanup is under way in the St. Louis area and neighboring Illinois after severe storms raked the region, damaging buildings and leaving more than 100,000 homes and businesses without power.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service confirms that at least one tornado barreled Friday night through portions of the St. Louis area as part of a storm that damaged dozens of homes but caused no serious injuries.

National Weather Service crews are assessing damage, trying to confirm whether tornadoes dropped down from the storm.

One suburban St. Louis school district canceled its Saturday graduation ceremonies, citing damage to the arena were the events were to have been held.

Ameren says 83,000 homes and businesses it serves around St. Louis were without power as of midday Saturday.

Those outages forced the temporary closure of the Hollywood Casino in Maryland Heights, but that site reopened Saturday.

Cleanup is also under way in southwestern Illinois after severe storms raked the region, damaging buildings and leaving tens of thousands of homes and businesses without power.

There were no reports of serious injuries resulting from Friday night's storms, which the National Weather Service says produced winds of up to 80 mph and several inches of rainfall.

Weather Service crews are assessing damage Saturday in Macoupin County northeast of St. Louis, trying to confirm whether tornadoes dropped down from the storm.

The high school in Macoupin County's Gillespie sustained extensive damage after the gymnasium roof collapsed.

Electric utility Ameren says 84,000 homes and businesses it serves around St. Louis were still without power as of midday Saturday, along with 15,000 from St. Louis' Illinois suburbs to central Illinois' Champaign area.